Police have arrested a man they believe to be responsible for a car crash that killed Temple man Ryan Williams in November. 

28-year-old Matthew Purcell of Temple has been charged with intoxication manslaughter with a vehicle. According to investigators, on the night of November 6, 2014, Purcell was driving a white Dodge pickup truck north in the 11700 block of State Highway 317. While intoxicated, he crossed into the southbound lane and left the road, eventually hitting a tree.

Purcell’s passenger - 23-year-old Ryan David Williams – was pronounced dead at the scene. Purcell told officers at the scene that he was asleep in the backseat when the accident occurred, and that a man he didn’t know had been driving and fled on foot. An investigation revealed that no other person was ever in the vehicle.

As of Friday, Purcell was in the Bell County Jail awaiting arraignment.

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